text “Is Jesus asleep in your boat?” As Pope Benedict XVI prepared to step down from the bridge of the “The…
text Second Sunday of the Year 2021: Loving Life Early this past week I happened to tune into “Morning Joe,” an early-morning news-and-commentary…
text “Show me the way to go home.” On my way to say goodbye to a good friend who was in hospice care, I had to…
text The Baptism of the Lord 2021: Hope Kindled Some things, once seen, remain etched in memory. Even though very few of us were present and…
text Baptism: A Journey of Hope The tiny hands of the two-day-old baby opened and closed with each drop of…
text The Epiphany 2021: Light in Dark Times Today’s celebration is one of the oldest in the Christian tradition. In Ireland it is traditionally…
text “As we look back at those who have gone before us, what do we find?” The tiny figures usually made their way to our family living room a few days…
text Feast of the Holy Family: Keeping in Touch In ages past, separated families had only letters and word of mouth for keeping in touch with their…
text “Always give more than you take.” Reading the daily obituaries always gives me a new lease on life. A firm…
text 4th Sunday of Advent 2020: The Hope in Christmas For those in the Northern hemisphere lucky enough to have an unimpeded view of the western horizon…
text If you want the unlikeliest of answers, then listen to the unexpected questions. .” In the words of the poet Mary Oliver, “Poetry is a life-giving force. For…
text Doctor… Who? Joseph Epstein’s mean-spirited op-ed piece on whether Jill Biden can call herself “Doctor” ignited…
text Third Sunday of Advent: Finding Joy There’s a certain irony in calling today’s celebration “Gaudete [Rejoice!] Sunday,” its former…
text “Lift up your eyes upon this day breaking for you. Give birth again to the dream.” The inevitable synchronicity of the gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke…
text The Second Sunday of Advent: A New Way This is the darkest part of the year, at least in the northern hemisphere, but the darkness is not…
text First Sunday of Advent: Waiting and Watching Although not much heralded in the news media, the now-annual Christmas nativity scene was erected…
text “I wait with quickened hope for crooked paths to straighten.” Generations of the family gathered around the bed as I prepared to administer…
text Solemn Feast of Christ the King: The End is Clear The liturgical year draws to a sad end this Sunday with the Solemn Feast of Christ the King of the…
text “Who lives on the outskirts of the kingdom?” The feast of Christ the King signals the end of Ordinary Time and the…
text 33rd Sunday of the Year: Being Prepared It has been another desperately challenging week, especially for healthcare workers who are…
text “Still, I put up with this Church until I see a better one; and she must put up with me... The sixteenth century Christian humanist and scholar, Erasmus (died 1536) had…
text 32nd Sunday of the Year 2020: Being Prepared It has been a momentous week, not only because of the ongoing saga of the presidential election in…
text “Vocatus Atque Non Vocatus, Deus Aderit.” Don’t panic. The rest of the essay will be in English! The Latin phrase,…
text All Saints Day 2020: The Friends of God In this midst of what can only be called a calamitous year, and our nation prepares to elect a new…
